Moon Valley (Ischigualasto) in Argentina – photo, description, attractions
Fans of the exotic corners of our planet will appreciate the unusual natural park called “Moon Valley” or Ischigualasto, which is located in the north of the province of San Juan in Argentina. It is located on an area of more than 600 sq. km. and 1300m above sea level. The exotic views of this plain are very reminiscent of the lunar landscape.
Description of Moon Valley
The entire Moon Valley is covered with various boulders, boulders and mounds of outlandish forms. Truly, the fantasy of nature has no limits. From dry, lifeless paintings with figures of frozen unearthly creatures, to juicy raspberry-lilac rocks of enormous size, bordering the park from the north and west. Red slate gives this effect. Right on the walls of these monoliths, you can find parts of fossilized mollusks, prints of prehistoric plants and animals.
Experts, using the potassium-argon method of dating the age of rocks, determined that the Moon Valley is about 230 million years old. Once it was a river valley full of life. Until now, scientists have found here the fossilized remains of ancient animals and plants. Visiting the museum, you can admire the bones of reptiles that lived before dinosaurs, models of more than 50 species of ancient animals, many of them in full growth.
Excavations at Ischigualasto
Paleontologists around the world are gaining more and more knowledge thanks to the excavations carried out in Ischigualasto Park. Many significant finds have been recorded here. These are crocodiles, and ancient rats, and birds. For example, Argentavis magnificens, it is probably the largest bird ever living on the planet (wingspan more than 7.5 meters), forafokos, they reached a height of about three meters and weighed about three hundred kilograms.
In 1980, the skeleton of a Hererosaurus was found, its length is 4.5 meters. In 2010, a team of paleontologists led by Riccardo Martinez of the University of San Juan and Paul Sereno of the University of Chicago published the results of their work on the difference between the predecessors of carnivorous and herbivorous dinosaurs, based on excavations in this particular area.
Where is Ischigualasto Park located?
Ischigualasto Park is located in the heart of the Atacama, one of the driest deserts in the world. There are places where it never rained. But a number of rivers and streams flow on the territory of the reserve. Due to this, several species of animals are found here: Argentine fox, llama, puma, Patagonian hare… Of the birds – condor, vulture, many songbirds. The vegetation here corresponds to the desert: undersized trees, thorny bushes. Large cacti decorate the view very much. Many of the plants found here are actively used in medicine.
Attractions of the Moon Valley
There is a special natural monument in the park: the Painted Valley (Valle Pintado). These are stone formations, hills of an unusual shape. Bright extraordinary colors change depending on the angle of incidence of the sunbeam and the presence of clouds. There really is nothing alive in this place, only stones and wind.
The so-called “pin-ball court” (Cancha de bochas) stuns with its appearance. Its entire surface is strewn with large smooth stones of a spherical shape. Their origin is still not known. Some scientists claim that these stones are of volcanic origin, polished by weather conditions. Others, and this is a more common version, that some small grains of sand become overgrown with rock, harden, and as they increase in volume, these balls come to the surface, they can grow together, forming even more bizarre shapes. Under the influence of time, they age and collapse. In other words, they live their own lives. This, of course, is only a theory, but these stones are made of the same rock as everything around, which means that they were “born” right here.
The park of stone figures gives a special charm to the valley. The most famous of them are Sphinx, Submarine, Mushroom. There are other phenomenal sculptures of nature. Huge blocks, processed by the sun, wind and water over many millions of years, turned into completely unusual sculptures.
In the evening, when the sun sets, Moon Valley is covered with many shadows of various shapes. Against the backdrop of constantly changing colors, this gives the whole park a special charm. There are no such fantastic landscapes on the planet anywhere else. This landscape is simply unearthly. They say even NASA tested its rover here. And the fiction and popular science films shot in Ischigualasto are simply innumerable.
Tourists are not allowed into the park at night. But eyewitnesses say that during the moon, especially if it is full, the area is flooded with a bewitching silvery light, stone statues seem to come to life, change silhouettes, shades, and all this against the backdrop of complete silence.
Indian legend says that these stone giants served as landmarks for the flights of the astral spirits of the ancient shamans, while they traveled in a dream to their ancestors and descendants. The fact that Indian tribes, including the Incas, lived in these places, is proved by the found fragments of rock paintings. Another giving explains the name of the park. Ischigualasto in the language of the Indian tribe Diaguita sounds like “the place where the moon rests.” Judging by the extraordinary landscapes, this is true.
Excursions
Argentina is a very interesting country for tourists. There are many national parks that leave a deep impression on travelers. Ischigualasto is one of the most memorable. It is included in the World Heritage List. Together with the even larger Talampaya Park (province of La Rioja) they form a single UNESCO site No. 966. Therefore, visiting these places is allowed only as part of a tourist autogroup and with a local guide.
The schedule of excursions is carefully adjusted. Every hour, from 9:00 to 17:00, caravans of cars and minibuses of visitors, or tour operators independent of the park administration, accompanied by one of the official guides of the reserve, start a three-hour forty-kilometer voyage, while making five stops in the most beautiful places.
Travelers can only get from Buenos Aires to the city of Vale Ferlil or San Juan. And local travel companies will already take care of the means of transportation and the road to Ischigualasto, the most extraordinary National Park in Argentina, and, perhaps, in the whole world.